Written by Marco Carvajal
Car Photographs by Marco Carvajal
Beginning in 2021 the car manufacturer Kia has introduced new strategies and goals. The new brand slogan includes words related to transportation and style: “Movement that inspires”. The new logo reflects such futuristic goal. The future is bright! Kia can bring many surprises to the car industry soon.
President and CEO of Kia Corporation, Ho Son Sung, talks about these changes:
“At Kia, we believe that transportation, mobility, and movement represent a human right. Our vision is to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies globally. Today we start putting this vision into action with the launch of our new brand purpose and strategy for the future.”
Kia believes that their new updated strategy will allow the company to go beyond vehicle manufacturing to create sustainable mobility solutions for customers.
Kia’s new brand purpose underlines that movement is at the genesis of human development. It allows you to see new places, meet new people and gain new experiences. The new slogan will elevate the brand’s image that is already becoming premium with high-end new models like the Kia Telluride, K5 and Kia Stinger.
The essence of Kia’s new brand is to foster human progress by providing innovative in-car spaces, exciting new products, and meaningful, convenient services. It is worth adding that Kia has been in the driving industry for more than 75 years. In addition, the company created Korea’s first domestic bicycles, as well as motorcycles and delivery trucks. Today Kia is one of the world’s largest automakers, supplying high-value cars around the world.
In order to advance in new areas of business, Kia decided to remove the word “Motors” from its name.
Part of the plan of the brand’s new strategy is to expand its production to include EVs, purpose-built vehicles, a variety of mobility solutions and services, and more. Kia will promote more sustainable production through the usage of clean energy and recyclable materials to project an organic and environment-friendly image.
There are no limits in the future of transportation and Kia. One of Kia’s goals is to popularize battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Kia plans to reinforce its global product line-up with the introduction of seven new dedicated BEVs by 2027. These models will include a range of passenger cars, SUVs, and MPVs in several new segments.
Kia is also working on the production of new Purpose-Built Vehicles (PBVs) for corporate customers. They will be based on flexible skateboard platforms with modular bodies designed to meet the specific and personal needs of a wide range of corporate clients. For example, demand for PBVs is expected to grow five-fold by 2030 due to rapid and sustained growth in e-commerce and car-sharing services.
Many upcoming new products and changes in the way we think about Kia Cars.
Moreover, Kia is ramping up collaboration and partnerships with global mobility solutions businesses.
For example, in 2018, Kia invested in Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing service, food delivery, and payment solutions company. And in March 2019, it began partnering with Ola, an Indian company that offers peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride-service hailing, taxi, food delivery, and other mobility services.
The new KiaMobility service was also launched in Italy and Russia in September 2020, accelerating the company’s transformation into a mobile solutions provider. KiaMobility will enter several new markets in the coming years.
The first of the next-generation Kia BEVs will be available for sale in the first quarter of 2021.
This car is based on the new E-GMP technology. Its electric range will be more than 500 kilometers, and its high-speed charging time will be less than 20 minutes. On top of that, it will also be the first global model to bear Kia’s new logo.
Finally, Kia will provide more information about the new design direction for its future products and services soon. Besides, the president of the company Song adds that the updated goals and strategies have a global mission:
“Changing our corporate name and logo is not only a cosmetic improvement. It represents us expanding our horizons and establishing new and emerging businesses that meet and exceed the diverse needs of our customers worldwide. More importantly, it also means adapting our working culture, enabling the creativity of all our employees and establishing an inspiring work environment.”
